Bundy, bats struggle in finale vs. Yanks

BALTIMORE -- Orioles starter Dylan Bundy gripped the ball in the third inning on a hot, sticky Wednesday night at Camden Yards. He had already pounded Yankees first baseman Greg Bird with five four-seam fastballs in the preceding eight pitches, had already issued two singles and two walks, the latter of which prompted a brief mound meeting. But whatever was said wasn't enough.

"I gave him pretty much every pitch I had in the arsenal there," Bundy said of Bird, who pummeled Bundy's ninth pitch, a 76-mph curveball, for a decisive two-out grand slam. "He was able to foul most of them off and hit the curveball out there."

BALTIMORE -- Orioles starter Dylan Bundy gripped the ball in the third inning on a hot, sticky Wednesday night at Camden Yards. He had already pounded Yankees first baseman Greg Bird with five four-seam fastballs in the preceding eight pitches, had already issued two singles and two walks, the latter of which prompted a brief mound meeting. But whatever was said wasn't enough.

"I gave him pretty much every pitch I had in the arsenal there," Bundy said of Bird, who pummeled Bundy's ninth pitch, a 76-mph curveball, for a decisive two-out grand slam. "He was able to foul most of them off and hit the curveball out there."

The Orioles, on the heels of a walk-off win that was one of their most feel-good W's of the season, fell flat in Wednesday's 9-0 series finale loss to the Yankees.

The defeat -- Baltimore's ninth shutout loss this season -- prompted concerns over Bundy, who has allowed 10 earned runs in 7 1/3 innings in two starts back from rolling his ankle on the basepaths in Atlanta. It showcased an offense that was handcuffed for six innings by Sonny Gray, who entered with a 5.80 ERA and turned in just his second scoreless game of the season. It put a spotlight on an Orioles defense that has been an issue all year. But most of all, Wednesday's game highlighted two teams going in two painstakingly different directions, as the Yankees (60-31) are a season-high 29 games over .500 and the O's (26-67) are fighting to get off the pace of what would amount to the worst record in franchise history.

Bundy, who exited after four innings, was charged with five runs on five hits and four walks. Once the O's most consistent starter, he's gone from having a 1.98 June ERA over 27 1/3 innings to a 12.27 mark in two starts since coming off the disabled list.

"Tonight his stuff was pretty good. They just had some good at-bats off him. I think Bird saw 20, 21 pitches off him," manager Buck Showalter said. "I actually thought he was pretty close to a pretty good outing. ... I don't worry about Dylan. He's close."

Asked if coming back from the DL was tougher than he envisioned, Bundy said, "Yeah, the results show that. But it doesn't feel like it has been. I felt great today. Thought my stuff was really good. All four pitches I thought were quality."

Of course, this latest loss shouldn't hang solely on Bundy's broad shoulders. Gray held the Orioles to three hits, striking out eight as he improved to 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA in three games against Baltimore this season. He is 3-7 with a 6.32 mark against everyone else.

"I thought [Gray] had a lot of late life, I thought the shape of his breaking ball was better," Showalter said. "Watching some film of him coming in, you could tell there was kind of a different guy out there tonight. Even early on, I thought he had two shapes on his breaking ball. He was real comfortable throwing it short when he needed to and getting it for a strike."

SOUND SMARTWednesday was Showalter's 3,000th career game as a skipper. He is the 22nd to reach that milestone. That's the third most among active managers, trailing the Giants' Bruce Bochy (3,803) and the Angels' Mike Scioscia (3,009).

HE SAID IT"Some people look at it that way, and some people look at it another way. There's a team on paper I should do real well against, and it actually works against them. So there's two ways to look at that. I think Sonny Gray is too good a pitcher to stay where he was all year, and I think he made some adjustments. He looked physically strong tonight." -- Showalter, on whether teams consider the Orioles a prime opponent for a bounceback outing

UP NEXTThe Orioles will host the Phillies on Thursday at 6:05 p.m. ET for a makeup game, with righty Kevin Gausman opposing Phillies righty Nick Pivetta. Gausman took a no-decision in Minnesota his last time out, going five innings and allowing three runs on five hits, including a homer. He has been one of the Orioles' most consistent starters, with quality outings in three of his past four.